‘That should never have happened,’ president says
Fired prof. offered chance to return
University of Saskatchewan President Ilene Busch-Vishniac publicly apologized to an outspoken professor, saying the university “blundered” when it stripped him of tenure.
On Thursday, a day after Robert Buckingham was fired from his positions of professor and executive director of the U of S school of public health, the university said Buckingham will not return to his leadership role, but will be welcomed back as a tenured faculty member if he chooses to return.
“Dr. Buckingham needed to be relieved of his duties as executive director of the school of public health. He should not have been put in the position where he felt that his tenured appointment was being revoked,” Busch-Vishniac told reporters Thursday.
“We, frankly, blundered. That should never have happened. Tenure is certainly one of the values that every university in the world holds dear. That’s as true here as is it is anywhere else and I have no excuse for what happened.”
She promised that “people will be held accountable” for the decision, but did not say whether her own job is on the line. “That’s for the board to decide,” she said.
Buckingham was fired and escorted off campus by security Wednesday, less than 12 hours after he sent a letter to the provincial government and Opposition criticizing the university’s controversial Transform US cost-saving plan and saying that Busch-Vishniac was threatening to cut professors’ tenures short if they spoke out about the plan.
The decision to axe Buckingham sparked outrage among faculty members, students, politicians and the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), who said the university was violating the professor’s right to academic freedom.
The university argued that because Buckingham held a leadership role, he had a responsibility to toe the party line. In a statement released Thursday, the university said it was the brunt of “inaccurate and undeserved” criticism because people confused Buckingham’s former role as executive director with the academic freedom associated with that of a tenured faculty member.
Buckingham said he has not decided whether he will return to the U of S, but said the school’s partial reversal of his firing is “a step in the right direction” and he’s no longer considering legal action against the university for wrongful termination.
He added that two other North American universities offered him jobs in the 24 hours after he was fired. “I thought it was cute,” he said. After serving as executive director of the school of public health for five years, Buckingham said he’s entitled to a year of administrative leave and he hopes the university honours that.
Busch-Vishniac told reporters that if the professor returns, his pension and right to leave will “absolutely” be unchanged.
Earlier in the day, Premier Brad Wall said he had asked Advanced Education Minister Rob Norris to “convene an urgent meeting of the board” to discuss the Buckingham matter.
The U of S board of governors, led by chair Susan Milburn, is responsible for overseeing and directing all matters respecting the management, administration and control of the university’s property, revenues and financial affairs.
Busch-Vishniac said she doesn’t know when the requested meeting will be held, but said it will be arranged “as quickly as calendars permit.” She said the meeting will not be open to the public and did not comment on the specifics of what will be discussed. Board members declined to speak with media Thursday.
Busch-Vishniac admitted the national brouhaha surrounding the initial decision to remove Buckingham’s tenure “doesn’t help” the university’s reputation, but said she’s “optimistic” the U of S will be forgiven.
“The situation has been rectified and we have promised we will work to ensure it never happens again,” she told reporters.
But some of the university administration’s most vocal critics said the Buckingham affair is more significant than a single blunder.
“WE, FRANKLY, BLUNDERED. THAT SHOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED. TENURE IS CERTAINLY ONE OF THE VALUES THAT EVERY UNIVERSITY IN THE WORLD HOLDS DEAR. THAT’S AS TRUE HERE AS IS IT IS ANYWHERE ELSE …”
ILENE BUSCH-VISHNIAC
“It was a terribly stupid act,” said U of S archeology and anthropology professor Sandy Ervin, who begins a term on the university council in July. “I can’t believe what they’re doing to themselves, the administration. I can’t see how they’ve got any traction of support locally. This is about one of the most egregious acts you can do in academia.”
He said the university may have backpedalled out of further censure from CAUT, which represents 68,000 teachers, librarians, researchers, general staff and other academic professionals.
U of S English Prof. Len Findlay, who chairs the CAUT’s academic freedom and tenure committee, said he was happy for Buckingham that the university has offered some degree of reinstatement. However, he said the move doesn’t address the university’s expectation of “tight cabinet solidarity” among deans.
“This is the retraction of an act that shows a predisposition to punish and then think,” Findlay said. The speed with which administrators acted to remove Buckingham from campus “suggests impulsiveness in the place which is supposed to be the sanctuary of reflection. It suggests the desire to punish and make an example,” Findlay said.
U of S vice-provost Martin Phillipson will assume the role of interim executive director at the school of public health.